


Too Much

by prettydamnlame



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: also mentions Jenna Joseph
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-24 01:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9692717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettydamnlame/pseuds/prettydamnlame
Summary: Blurry's back. A two-part story.





	1. Chapter 1

**It was all too much.** Tyler’s eyes caught his own reflection in the dressing room mirror, right hand paused mid-air, raised to apply more black paint to the underside of his neck, completing his transformation for the first part of the set tonight.

Who Tyler had been even four, six, eight years ago would be floored by how far he had come: he was touring the world, performing almost nightly to packed stadiums and adoring fans. He was doing all this with his best friend, Josh, who, for some reason that still mystified Tyler, had believed in and seen something in Tyler’s art even before he had joined the band. Tyler also had Jenna, the love of his life and the most beautiful woman he had ever met, constantly supporting and loving him even if that had to be from afar whilst Twenty One Pilots toured internationally.

**It was too much,** he heard the unwelcome voice hiss from somewhere within his ear again. **Too much that you don’t deserve.**

The man grit his teeth and attempted to match his own reflection’s blasé expression.

Since attracting such a large following, the band was expected to play huge stadium and concert venues, and increasingly, that meant he and Josh would be assigned separate dressing rooms. Tyler would never say as much aloud, but this was, by far, the development of their band’s ever-increasing popularity that he disliked the most.

In Jenna’s absence, Josh was the only one who knew how to stop this. Josh knew how to stop this voice, how to talk it down and draw Tyler back to the surface. **He’s not here,** the same voice again, niggling in his ear. Tyler’s reflection continued to stare gormlessly back at him from the mirror. **And neither is she. It’s just you, and me, and the goddamn truth.**

Dimly, Tyler was aware of the sound of his dressing room door swinging open, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. He was drowning.

Josh appeared in the mirror as well, peering over his best friend’s shoulder concernedly. _Josh!_ Something happy, something pure, threatened to bubble straight to the surface of Tyler’s mind but the ugly voice inside him shoved it back down immediately. **You don’t deserve him. He’s got you up on a pedestal you never earned. You’re a fraud, and you don’t deserve any of this, and that’s the goddamn truth.**

“Tyler,” Josh was saying, still leaning over his friend, waving a hand in the mirror slowly. The drummer’s brightly dyed mohawk was matched by the bright red of the makeup around his eyes that had become slightly narrowed at Tyler’s lack of reaction.

Josh hunkered down into a squat beside his best friend and swung the swivel chair around to face him. Gently, he took the blackened paintbrush out of Tyler’s hand before taking the other man’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing him to meet his gaze. Tyler’s eyes were hazy, unfocused, and Josh’s stomach clenched. _It was Blurry._  

Abruptly, Blurry seemed to take active control of Tyler instead of just slowly suffocating him, and wrenched his chin out of Josh’s hand. Blackened hands flew out and caught Josh in the chest, shoving him back, straight onto the floor. Blurry was standing over Josh then, Tyler’s usual warm brown eyes burning a void black.

Josh spoke first. “Tyler, don’t let - ”

“Tyler’s not here.” His best friend’s voice spoke over the top of him, even though he knew it wasn’t really him. “You’ve got me this evening, _un_ – _for_ – _tu_ – _nately_!” Blurry drew out the last word in a sing-song tone before sitting back down heavily and swivelling the chair back around to face the mirror.

The drummer got back to his feet slowly, watching cautiously as Blurry began to apply black paint to Tyler’s neck, completing his costuming for the show they were due to play in half an hour.

“You’ve got no right to be here,” Josh heard himself snarl angrily at the imposter inside his best friend’s skin. “He doesn’t need you anymore.”

“I have every right,” Blurry scoffs in reply, still methodically applying layers of black watercolour to Tyler’s skin. “And you’re wrong - ” Blurry’s beetle black gaze glanced up into the mirror momentarily to meet Josh’s – “he’ll always need me. He’s nothing without me. He’s a goddamn fraud.”

A rivulet of anger coursed through the drummer and his fists clenched, fingernails digging into the pads of his hands. “He’s not a fraud,” Josh declared loudly, striding forward and gripping the back of the chair the imposter was sat in. “ _You are_!” With all his strength, the man pulled the chair backward, jumping out of the way nimbly, and sent Blurry falling to the floor.

Moments later Blurry was on his feet and coming at Josh, shouldering into his chest, ramming him against the dressing room wall. A blackened fist swung up and collected the side of Josh’s face and the drummer winced. The pain served as a catalyst and Josh straightened up, throwing a calculated punch into the soft space he knew was between Tyler’s ribs before shoving his best friend’s body down, down, until he was flat against the floor and the drummer was perched on top of his chest, pinning his arms above his head.

“If you want this show to happen tonight you better get off me and kiss my feet, Joshua Dun,” Blurryface was hissing, struggling under the weight of the drummer. “If you think I won’t swallow our boy’s tongue just to spite you, you’re as dumb as you are pretty.”


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

> _“If you want this show to happen tonight you better get off me and kiss my feet, Joshua Dun,” Blurryface was hissing, struggling under the weight of the drummer. “If you think I won’t swallow our boy’s tongue just to spite you, you’re as dumb as you are pretty.”_

“If you hurt Tyler... ” Josh snarled, but Blurry just laughed – a manic, unsettled rolling pitch that was nothing like Tyler’s sweet, bubbly giggling.

“He needs to _learn_ ,” the shadow of his best friend spat out bitterly. “He thinks you can _save_ him. He thinks you’ll _always_ be here to save him. _He needs to learn_!”

Josh felt a wild rage overtake him and he gripped Blurry’s throat with one hand, the other still pinning both his hands above his head. “ _I will be_! I will always be here!” The words burst out of Josh in a savage shout. “I’ll always be here to beat the hell out of you and fight for Tyler, because he’s worth it. He’s _always_ worth it!”

Something flickered beneath the blackness of Blurry’s gaze and Josh’s heart leapt. He had seen his best friend’s lips open slightly, just ever so slightly, as he’d seen them do hundreds of times before, when he heard something that surprised him or shocked him. Josh immediately knew he had to keep going, to draw Tyler back to the surface.

“If I had to do this every night of the week, I would! I want _Tyler_ with me!” Josh suddenly realised how close to crying he was. “I want Tyler with me on stage. I want Tyler in the bunk above mine on the bus, I want Tyler in the plane seat beside me, I want Tyler in the hotel bed right next to mine, _I want Tyler_ – _I want_ – ”

Josh’s voice cracked and he trembled all over, and suddenly he felt the tension rush out of the body pinned beneath him like water rushing out of an emptying sink.

“ _Josh_.” The name was almost a death rattle. It was Tyler.

The sheer electrifying anxiousness over his best friend’s wellbeing that had been propelling Josh along vacated him in a calamitous rush and he collapsed, sliding off Tyler and onto the floor of the dressing room. The bright haired boy’s body curled in on itself, unbidden, right in the fetal position, and the drummer willed himself not to cry.

“Josh... ” Tyler’s voice came again, this time a little more stronger, and a lot more concerned.

The drummer’s eyes flickered open, hot tears stinging in the corners.

Tyler had turned on his side, still lying on the floor, to face his best friend curled up beside him. Blackened fingertips brushed tears from Josh’s cheeks as he murmured: “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Josh’s head shook slightly, a silent _no_. His brown eyes met Tyler’s and the look was easily understood between the two of them, after so many years together. _Don’t be sorry_. _Never be sorry_.

Tyler reached out and pulled Josh, who was still shaking slightly with leftover adrenaline from the physical altercation with Blurry, closer, and the two wrapped their arms around each other effortlessly.

Josh leant his forehead against Tyler’s slightly sweaty chest and the lead singer rested his chin atop of his best friend’s head gently.

They still had fifteen minutes before the show.

They'd be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2! Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> Second part (finale) to come.


End file.
